Author: Lena Nichols

Small business may be different from computer stores to cyber cafes to coffee shops, but they still experience relatively common problems and they will generally follow certain stages of development and growth. By understanding these patterns, its possible to know which stage your business is in and what you can do to mitigate the challenges and problems associated with that stage.

Stage 1. Staying Alive
When a Business is starting, the main objective is usually to stay alive. Customers are few and there is need to increase the client base and a good way to do this is through a quality website. Resources such as the starting capital are gradually getting depleted with time and with more production.

The owner of the business is the business and manages every aspect of it. If there are employees, they are usually of average capacity. However, this is usually what is needed as the production is not very advanced at this stage.

The business may either use up the starting capital, fail to secure more clients and therefore die or if its lucky, the can be sold for the current asset value.

Stage 2. Maintain Operation
When the business enters into the second phase of survival, it is now apparent that it can continue to operate. It has a well-established client base whose needs are well satisfied.
Some of the main questions in this stage is whether there can be enough cash inflow to break even, make repairs and increase stock.
There are still a few employees but this time could be under supervision by a subordinate of the business owner. His task is to lay out instructions.

Stage 3. Success
At this point the business is profitable and thriving. The owners have two choices, increase the size of the business or simply maintain the current state.
The owners may also use it as a platform to venture into other types of businesses and engagements such as run for political seats.

Stage 4: Taking-Off
This stage is characterized by the need to increase business growth in a rapid fashion. This usually means finding ways to finance the business.
We often see delegation at this point where certain tasks are given to subordinates to improve the managerial effectiveness.

Step 5: Resource management
When a business reaches this stage, there are usually many systems that are well developed. Income is streaming in at a considerable rate and the management levels are increasing with more business. Management continues to be more decentralized to be able to maintain efficiency.
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Being in the limelight means that you’re constantly dealing with fans, paparazzi, press, debuts, and more. How does someone get used to that lifestyle and deal with it?

Hollywood is known for its celebrities and a lot of them live in the surrounding areas, and with the legalization of various marijuana products, it becomes accepted by socialites and non-socialites alike. Many people uses medical marijuana from the dispensaries in the area, and others will use CBD Oil, which contains no THC, for things like pain and anxiety. So, what are the benefits of CBD Oil and who uses it? Check this out.

Traditionally, script and screenwriting has been an arduous process just because of the fact that in order to get accepted to any studio or publisher, your work must first be noticed then approved. Both occurrences would mean the stars aligning just in your favor. But with the rise of web 2.0 and cloud-based crowd platforms, the landscape for writers seems to be changing.

According to Coverage Ink on Virtual Pitch Fest, a new service called Virtual Pitch Fest allows writers to pair up with pros and have their work reviewed and potentially promoted through a process where it will actually be published or converted into screen time. The process works like this:

A writer can join this platform and submit their work for review, and can even target prospective professionals who have agreed to be reviewers in the platform. Going through this process allows the writer’s work to be directly reviewed by someone in the industry and would be part of companies looking for the new talent that generally becomes elusive unless they reside within Hollywood itself. This strategy allows screenwriters to promote their work from any location, and avoid the traditional move to Hollywood along with its high costs and less-than-lavish lifestyle for a budding writer.

VPF has been picking up steam, accumulating reviews, and is even getting recognized as its own Virtual Pitch Fest profile in Glassdoor, which signals validity with a company as its making waves and becoming more well-known. It’s becoming the talk of the town for screenwriters, with those asking if it’s worth being part of the process, such as in this blog, where a user asks if VPF maintains its value and is responded with an actual user that claims they have a 30% acceptance rating.

Platforms like this are starting to take shape in many different industries, and now we’re finally seeing it in the screenwriter corner. Have you tried VPF or similar services? Let us know.

Search engine optimization, abbreviated SEO, is a discipline of marketing that focuses on growing the visibility of non-paid/organic results of a search engine and involves the tweaking of the creative and technical elements needed to drive traffic, increase awareness and improve the ranking of a website in search engines. SEO has many facets to it ranging from the words your use on your page to the way other sites link to yours on the web. In simpler terms, search engine optimization is the process of structuring a website in a way that makes it easy for search engines to understand.

It is important to note that SEO is more than just building websites that are search engine-friendly. It is also about making a website better for people/users too. It is also a way to create easy Houston online marketing.

Why Websites Need SEO

Almost all web traffic is driven by the three major commercial search engines, that is Yahoo!, Bing, and Google. And while social media and other traffic mediums can lead to website visits, search engines are the primary method of navigation for a majority of internet users. And this applies to everyone even if their site provides information, content, products, services, or anything else for that matter.

Search engines are exceptional considering that they provide a more targeted traffic that is people who are specifically looking for what you have to offer. They are the roadway that enables you to make what you have to offer available to the masses. As such, if a search engine can’t find your website or add content from it to its databases, then you miss out on incredibly unique opportunities to drive traffic towards your site.

A search query, which is the words a user types into any search engines search box for results, is one of the most valuable things when it comes to being found. Experience shows that traffic from search engines will either make or break a business’ or organization’s success. This is because targeted traffic to any site can provide coverage, publicity and revenue like no other channel can. Investing in search engine optimization can offer a higher ROI compared to other forms of promotion and marketing.

While search engines are smart, they still need some help. That’s why the three major engines are constantly working on how to improve their ability to provide users with better results by crawling the web more deeply. As with all things, search engines have limits too. Therefore, for them to find and list your website, they need to be guided. That is where SEO comes into play.

Apart from making site content and information available to a search engine, search engine optimization also helps improve your site’s ranking so that your content is placed where searchers can find it easily. The internet is an ever evolving market that is becoming increasingly competitive, and companies or businesses that are optimizing their sites for search engines have an added advantage over competitors who aren’t.

It is important to note that while the right optimization can help you net thousands of visitors, increasing attention, one wrong move can bury/hide your site deep in a search engine’s results page where visibility is very little. While the world of search engine optimization is quite complicated, most people can understand the basics quite easily and with a bit of training and practice, almost anyone can do it.

However, if you want to make sure that your SEO efforts are fruitful, it is advisable that you consider hiring the services of an SEO expert or agency as these professionals have the skills, training, tools and experience required to make SEO work for you. For more SEO information, contact a dependable SEO specialist today to help with Baton Rouge online marketing.

Filming your first documentary can be an exciting event, but there are also a lot of problems that you could face. It is important that you try and avoid as many of these problems as possible. This is why you should look at some practical tips that will help you make the best documentary you can.

Have A Script

Before you start shooting, you need to have some form of script or an idea of what you want your documentary to look like. This will ensure that you are prepared and organized when it comes to filing your documentary. When you create your script, you need to consider what you want to achieve with your documentary.

Try asking yourself what your vision for the documentary is and what the message that you want to get across is. All of these questions will help you determine how you should film the documentary and what you should be saying. It is recommended that you go through these questions every day before and after you shoot to ensure that you are always on the right track.

Shoot Close Together

A lot of first-time documentary makers do not realize how important it is to have shooting days close together. You should avoid shooting one day and then waiting a month before shooting again. When you shoot for 4 days in a row, your subjects will become used to this and their masks will disappear. When the people you are filming become used to the camera, this is when magic will happen.

Shoot As Much As You Can

While it is important that you have a script, you should still shoot as much as you can. Many documentary makers have found that when they shoot the most mundane things, they capture the most exciting scenes. The more footage you have, the higher your chances of getting the scene that you want.

Shoot as much as you can, will also help to get the subject used to the camera. Of course, you should be aware that there are times when the subject will need a break from the camera. You need to respect this and stop filming because if you continue to film you will be breaking their trust which could cause a number of other problems.

Go With The Flow

While it is important to have a script and some idea of what the next scene should be, you also need to be flexible. Do not get stuck on your script because this could cause your documentary to feel stiff and over staged. If something happens while you are filming, you need to go with the flow and adapt your scripting to this.

A lot of filmmakers have found that when something unexpected happens, it changes the entire flow of their documentary for the better. Flexibility is important because you are dealing with real life and not a carefully created script. Your viewers will also get a better sense of the subject when something comes up that they were not expecting.

Character Processes

One of the most important tips that you will find for documentary making is to have your characters or subjects go through a process in their life. While it is important to find out the history of the character, they should also have a new goal that they are working toward. This is how Hollywood works and it is what people have come to expect from any film.

When filming any character process, you need to identify the goal they wish to achieve and the conflicts that are stopping them. Your viewers will continue to watch your documentary because they want to see how the history of the character and the current conflicts they face will impact their ability to reach their goal. This will also help your viewers identify with the subject.

There are many tips that you need to know about when you film your first documentary. Some of the practical tips will help you engage with your subjects and create a personal film which is more appealing to viewers. Others tips will help you connect with your audience and ensure that they watch the entire film.